Chapter XXVI: Appendix: I

MOORISH STORIES AND FABLES.

From much information that has been kindly furnished to us by Mr. Freeman Rogers, a gentleman who was several years resident in Marocco, and had become familiar with the people and their language and manners, the following extracts have been taken for the sake of the light which they throw on the condition of the country. It being the main object of this volume to relate our personal experiences, we have not been able to avail ourselves of much information supplied to us by Mr. Rogers, and other competent witnesses; but it has appeared to us that the extracts here given form a useful supplement to the facts which came to our knowledge during our short stay in Marocco, and will help the reader to form a truer conception of its present condition.

The stories, which may be said to have a political character, furnished to us by Mr. F. Rogers, all refer to events that have occurred during the last twenty-five years, and are precisely similar in character to others which were passing at the time of our visit. They are accepted as substantially accurate by our informant, and we see no reason to refuse them credence. They certainly tally with the universal belief of the natives as to the conduct of their rulers. Any one who is familiar with the chronicles of the Middle Ages, who has marvelled at the deeds of ferocious cruelty recorded of German petty rulers, or the more refined atrocities of Italian princes, must sometimes have felt a wish to know what manner of men they were who committed these deeds. To satisfy such a curiosity, he cannot do better than pay a visit to the interior of Marocco. If duly commended to their good offices, he will be received by men of stately and courteous manners, prompt to display a lavish hospitality, who will inevitably send him away with a favourable impression; but before he has been many weeks in the country, he will become aware that these amiable hosts are habitually guilty of deeds of combined ferocity and treachery that equal, if they do not surpass, those of the dark periods of European history.

The popular fables, which were taken down from the mouth of an old Moorish story-teller, and literally translated by Mr. Rogers, complete the impression derived from the fragments of contemporary history. They all turn upon the success of fraud and force in the affair’s of life. The moral, so to speak, of all is ‘woe to the weak and the confiding;’ but admiration is mainly given to those who supply the place of strength by successful perfidy.

_Abd el Saddock, Kaïd of Mogador, Duquallah, Abda, and Sous._[1]

On one occasion this Kaïd was sent to Sous by the Sultan to reduce some provinces to submission. When arrived there, a grand entertainment was given to him by the refractory Sheiks, and immense quantities of provisions sent in to supply the guests, among which was a large quantity of a particular dish of which the Kaïd was known to be very fond, and this was all poisoned. The Kaïd, suspecting from the Sheiks’ importunity for him to eat of it that it was poisoned, ordered his soldiers to guard the doors and let no one escape, and then called upon the Sheiks one by one to partake of the dish. Most of the Sheiks refused to eat, and some few came cheerfully forward at the Kaïd’s call; those who refused were compelled to eat, and those who came cheerfully forward were not allowed to eat; and so the Kaïd in one day not only got rid of his enemies, but saved his friends, whom he rewarded by putting them in the place of those who fell by their own treachery.

_Kaïd Boh Djemma._

Some short time after the news of the foregoing had spread over the country, a revolt took place at Shedma, and many of the Sheiks made themselves conspicuous by their opposition to the Kaïd, who determined to get rid of all his enemies at one blow; he therefore made peace with them, and all seemed well and tranquil for some time. At last came the holiday _l’ashora_, or the day of the Sultan’s tenthing, when an invitation was issued by the Kaïd to all his Sheiks to appear at his entertainment; none dare refuse, and so all went. The Kaïd had, in the meantime, prepared a large room, into which he sent the Sheiks known to be his enemies, and another into which he sent those known to be his friends. When all had feasted until they could eat no more, the Kaïd quietly ordered the windows and doors to be closed, the men to be bound, burning charcoal to be placed in the room, and the doors then to be built up, and all left to their fate. Nine days afterwards, when the room was opened, nothing remained of all those men, some twenty-two or twenty-three, but bones, attesting the fatal effects of burning charcoal and the daring ferocity of the rats; except one man whom the Kaïd pardoned, believing him to be innocent, as his life seemed to be so miraculously preserved.

_What the Sultan means when he bestows a Wife._

The Kaïd of Shedmah, Boh Djemma, had distinguished himself against some rebels who had risen against the Sultan, and the praise bestowed upon him openly by his enemies in the hearing of the Sultan, excited the suspicious sovereign’s anger and jealousy to such an extent that he was determined to get rid of such a dangerous enemy; in order to which he called for the Kaïd and praised his exploits in the presence of all his great men, ordered him a suit of his own royal clothing and a favourite horse, and promised him a wife out of his own seraglio. The Kaïd rejoiced, and his enemies too: the Kaïd, because he regarded himself as a favourite; and his enemies, who were older and knew better, because that he was doomed. In a few days the Kaïd was sent home and his new wife along with him in great state, and in ten days more the Kaïd was carried to the grave, he having died suddenly (poisoned by the Sultan’s female executioner) in the night.

A similar occurrence took place with the Kaïd of Haha; but he had a watchful and wise mother, who watched the new wife until she saw her prepare a dish for her son, when she presented herself before him, charged the new wife with her intended crime, and dared her to eat of her own dish. The Kaïd’s eyes were opened, and he compelled the Sultan’s lady, his new wife, to eat of the dish which she had prepared for him, when she immediately died from the effects of her own poison. This Kaïd ever after kept away from the Sultan until, a few years ago, his evil genius prevailed on him to obey the Sultan’s call, when he died within an hour after taking supper with the Sultan.

_Abd el Saddock, Kaïd of Mogador, Duquallah, Abda, and Sous,
and his False Friend._

Some years since, the Kaïd of Mogador[2] (father of the Kaïd Hadj Amara who entertained you when there) ruled over the provinces of Duquallah, Sous, and Abda, and made a great deal of money during his administration, and secured the love of all good Moors by his making the Jews acknowledge their inferiority to the Moors. But suspecting that his time to be squeezed by the Sultan had nearly arrived, he determined to prepare for it, and so outwit a false friend, who was an enemy of his, and the Sultan at the same time; in order to which, he called upon his false friend, and invited him to dine with him that evening in private as he had something to tell him. After dinner the Kaïd told his guest that he was getting afraid of the Sultan seizing him in order to get his money. ‘Now,’ said he, ‘I have a favour to ask of you, which is that you will carefully preserve the treasure which I will show you, and when I am seized upon take the keys of my house, but do not live in it, and when my son Hamara knows how to use my money, then tell him of the box and give him the keys; and further, I want you to swear that you will never tell where I have hid my treasure, and that you will not tell any one of what has passed this night.’ The false friend took the oath with mental reservations, as would appear from the sequel. The Kaïd then ordered four slaves to attend upon him, and all descended to the cellar, where the money was concealed in a large strong wooden box, buried in the ground. The box was then opened and was seen to be full of silver and gold, &c. The Kaïd then had the box covered up, and the false friend took his departure. After he went away, the Kaïd returned with his slaves and had the money, but not the box, removed to a really secure place, and had the box filled with bits of stones and broken pottery and recovered over in the same manner as it was before, when seen by the Kaïd’s false confidant; he then had his slaves carried off to prison and put to death on some pretext or other. The next day when the Kaïd’s confidant heard of the slaves being dead, he knew it was to prevent their telling, and concluded that it was the secret which he possessed which the Kaïd wanted to guard, and that he alone knew of the secret of the Kaïd’s wealth and its hiding place. In some short time afterwards, an order came from the Sultan ordering Abd el Saddock up to Marocco; upon which the Kaïd told his confidant of his trouble and begged him to be true to his oath, blessed him, kissed him, and then went to wait upon the Sultan. The Sultan upon seeing him ordered his arrest and torture, accusing him of robbing him and his people, &c.; upon which the Kaïd was carried off to the torture, when he kept denying having any money, and being guilty of the charges brought against him. At last the Sultan, losing all patience, sent him word that he had received information, so the Kaïd had better speak the truth at once, for such a one (the false friend) had declared that he had a large box full of treasure, but was sworn not to tell of its whereabouts. The Kaïd, therefore, must either tell or suffer death by torture. At this the Kaïd pretended to be much alarmed, and declared that nothing could be concealed from Seedna, so he would confess the whole truth, and that what such a one said was true and that it was concealed in such a place, and put there in presence of such a one (the informer, the Kaïd’s confidant), and that if the Sultan sent for it he would have it all. The Kaïd was then put in prison, and notaries and soldiers sent for the money under the guidance of the informer who was in great glee, thinking that now his fortune was made and his favour with the Sultan secure; but upon arriving at the cellar and the box being opened, nothing but stones and broken pottery was found where there had been gold and silver. Imagine the wretch’s horror as the notaries said he himself must inform the Sultan, as they dare not do so; however, as there was no use in lamenting, they returned to Marocco, and the informer had to tell Seedna that there was nothing in the box but rubbish; upon which the Sultan ordered the Kaïd to be brought before him and demanded the meaning of such a thing. The Kaïd answered, ‘True, our lord, it is that I did not oppress your people, and the money hidden in that box was made by lawful means, and I reposed confidence in my friend here, and left the money for my son; and so I told your majesty truly that I had nothing, because it then became by my gift my son’s money, and this, my false friend, has broken his trust, robbed my son and Seedna, and then to cover his knavery, sought my life by trying to turn our lord against me. I therefore beg that our lord will make him confess what he has done with Seedna’s money.’ The Sultan thought the informer simply wanted to make him a fool to cover his knavery, and at once, in a passion, ordered him to be flogged until he confessed. But as he could not confess that he had taken the money and had none of his own to replace it, the lash was continued until the wretch died under it. The Kaïd was set free and restored to Mogador, and the informer’s son is now assistant weigher at the Custom House, Mogador.

SIX MOORISH FABLES.

1. _Fable of a Hedgehog and a Fox._

Once upon a time a fox accidentally meeting a hedgehog addressed him as follows, ‘I am much oppressed with thirst;’ to which the hedgehog replied, ‘So am I, and I know a well where we can drink.’ The fox then said, ‘Come along.’ They travelled on till they reached the well where they found two buckets worked by a pulley, one ascending whilst the other descended. ‘Now,’ said the hedgehog, ‘I will go in first, and when I tell you, jump into the other bucket.’ The hedgehog went down and had his drink, and then shouted to the fox, ‘Now you jump in.’ He did as he was told, and as he went down met the hedgehog coming up in the ascending bucket; upon seeing which he said, ‘What does this mean?’ The hedgehog answered thus, ‘It is the world goes round:’ and when he was safely at the top, and the fox had reached the bottom, he called down to him and said, ‘Those who want to kill me I catch them in a trap, and to those who do me a good turn I do the same to them.’

2. _The Camel, the Hedgehog, and the Lion._

Once upon a time there was a camel who met with a hedgehog, and the camel tried to trample on him. The hedgehog said to the camel, ‘Wait till I call my brother, he is able to kill both you and me.’ ‘No,’ said the camel, ‘if he comes he will perhaps kill me.’ ‘No, no,’ said the hedgehog, ‘if you wish to see him, lie down on your belly or on your back, open your mouth and let the flies come in, and appear as if you were dead.’ The camel said, ‘All right.’ ‘Well, well,’ said the hedgehog, ‘I will go call my brother.’ The hedgehog went away to look for a lion, and meeting with one, said, ‘Your servant, my lord; there is a wild beast which wishes to eat me.’ The lion replied, ‘Will he eat _me_?’ The hedgehog said if he were there he certainly would; but he has gone away to get food, ‘but my lord, if you would like to see what he has procured for his breakfast, come along with me.’ The lion said, ‘You go first.’ ‘Very well I will do so,’ said the hedgehog, ‘and when you follow and get near, roar with all your might.’ The lion said, ‘All right.’ The hedgehog said, ‘I shall go first.’ So away went the hedgehog, and said to the camel, ‘Now, he is coming you lie still; don’t stir or he will eat you.’ The camel said, ‘All right;’ and whenever they heard the roarings of the lion, the camel said to the hedgehog, ‘Listen to the noise he makes while talking.’ The lion then drew nearer and roared again; when the camel exclaimed, ‘In the name of the most merciful God, is he going to eat me?’ The hedgehog said, ‘Don’t stir, don’t fear.’ The camel said, ‘All right.’ They waited till the lion came, when the hedgehog addressed him, and said, ‘This is a morsel of the breakfast the monster is going to eat.’ The lion and the hedgehog now bade each other adieu; and when the lion had departed the hedgehog said to the camel, ‘Now you may get up, but tell me which of the two is master.’ The camel replied, ‘It is you, it is you; good morning.’ The hedgehog said to the camel, ‘Are you going away?’ The camel replied, ‘Yes, my lord, I am;’ and from that day to this they have never spoken.

3. _The Snake, the Hedgehog, the Man, and the Hunters._

The Hedgehog personates the Kadi.
The Hunters „ the Soldiers.
The Snake „ the People.
The Man „ the Sanctuary.

Once upon a time there were some hunters, who went out to hunt a fairy embodied as a snake. The snake being pursued meeting with a man passing by, said to him, ‘Will you afford me protection, for there are hunters following, who want to catch me?’ The man answered, ‘Very well,’ and allowed the snake to be concealed in his clothes; presently the hunters came up to the man and asked him whether he had seen a snake, to which he answered no, and the hunters passed on in pursuit. After the hunters had left, the man asked the snake to go down. The snake said, ‘No, and if you attempt to force me down, I will kill you.’ The man said to the snake, ‘Very well, let us go to the Kadi and hear what the law says.’ The snake said, ‘Very well, come along.’ So they went on till they came to the hedgehog, who was Kadi; and the man said, ‘Your servant, my lord; here is a snake that I have saved from the hunters, and I have told him to get down, but he would not.’ The hedgehog addressed the snake, and said, ‘I will decide the law for you, but first get down.’ The snake at once got down, and then demanded of the hedgehog what the law said. The Kadi then addressed the man as follows: ‘The snake is on the ground and a stick is in your hand.’ The man, taking the hint, struck the snake on the head and killed it.

4. _The Sheep, the Fox, the Lion, and the Shepherd._

Once upon a time a fox met a lion, and the lion, addressing the fox, said, ‘Will you be my servant to catch sheep for me? The fox said, ‘I will, if you will give me my share.’ The lion said, ‘No, and if you eat a single bit, I will kill you.’ ‘Very well,’ said the fox, ‘if that is the bargain, I will agree to go hunt for you.’ So away went the fox and hunted about till he found some sheep, one of which he killed and ate. He then went off to the owner of the sheep and said, ‘The lion sent me to hunt your sheep for him, but I would not do so, and he came himself and ate one, and I have run to tell you.’ ‘Very well,’ said the shepherd, ‘you shall be the guard over my sheep, and let me know when the lion comes;’ and the fox said, ‘All right.’ So he waited till the evening, and then went to guard the sheep; and whilst on guard he killed and devoured two more, and afterwards, making a little wound in his own leg, he ran off to the shepherd, and said, ‘The lion has come and eaten two sheep, and wanted to eat me also; see the wound he made in my leg.’ The shepherd said, ‘I see it is true; I will put two men to assist you to guard.’ The fox said, ‘All right; I will go hunt for something to eat, and then return.’ So he went off in search for the lion, and meeting him, said, ‘I know where there are lots of sheep; they are in such a place, you come in the evening to eat them.’ The lion said, ‘All right.’ The fox then ran back to the shepherd, and said, ‘The lion is coming to-night,’ and directed the men who were to assist in guarding to conceal themselves, but before doing so to bring a big sack into which the fox put a great stone, and waited till the lion came. When the lion came he said to the fox, ‘Why have not you killed me a sheep?’ The fox said, ‘Because I was afraid of a great monster that none but you can master, and there he is in that sack; go in and kill him.’ The lion said, ‘All right,’ and went in, when the fox tied securely the mouth of the bag, so that the lion could not get out. The fox then said to the lion, ‘Have you found him?’ The lion replied, ‘No, no, I have not, and it is funny I cannot get out.’ The fox said, ‘Push away, try and get out.’ The lion said, ‘I cannot.’ The fox said, ‘Probably the monster holds you there.’ The fox said to the lion three times, ‘Can’t you get out?’ and three times the lion replied, ‘I cannot.’ The fox said, ‘He who wishes to kill me I catch him in a trap, and to him who does good to me I will do good in return.’ So he went away and called the guard, and said, ‘There he is, beat him;’ so they beat him, and beat him till they were tired; and at last broke his leg. The fox said to the guard, ‘Now let him out, he has broken his leg and cannot escape;’ and when the lion got out the fox, addressing him, said, ‘Now, which is master?’ The lion replied, ‘You are my master;’ and the fox said, ‘Whoever wishes to eat me at one time will try again,’ and turned to the men and ordered them to kill him. After which the fox said, ‘Now that we have killed the lion, good-bye;’ and the men replied, ‘Good-bye.’ He went away, and waiting till evening, and returning at supper time, he wounded the leg of each remaining sheep, and ran off to the owner and said, ‘A monster bigger than the last has come and wounded all your sheep.’ Previous to this the fox went to the market, and bought a suit of clothes, and sprinkled them with the blood of the sheep, and made it appear as if the big monster of whom he spoke had also killed a man. He then said to the owner, ‘All your sheep are spoiled; we had better kill them and make a feast.’ So the shepherd killed the rest of the sheep, and ate them with the fox; and when they had finished, the fox filled a bowl with dirty water. The owner after he had finished his breakfast, said, ‘What am I to do now? The sheep are killed.’ The fox said, ‘Now I will tell you how it all happened.’ The man said, ‘How?’ The fox said, ‘Not till you open that door so that the light is let in;’ and then said quickly, ‘It is I who killed your sheep;’ he then threw the dirty water in his face, and made off.

5. _The Pigeon and the Monkey._

Once upon a time as a pigeon was passing by he met with a monkey. The monkey said to the pigeon, ‘Come, let us play;’ and the pigeon said, ‘Very well, what shall we play at?’ The monkey put up a stick and proposed they should get up it. The pigeon agreed, and the monkey said, ‘Which shall go up first?’ The pigeon said,‘You.’ The monkey said, ‘All right,’ and tried but could not manage it; upon which the pigeon immediately flew to the top. The pigeon said, ‘Now it is my turn to say, ‘What shall we next try?’ The monkey said, ‘All right.’ So the pigeon challenged the monkey to tie his tail to his leg, and when he had accomplished it, and untied it, he said, ‘Come, let us see whether you can tie your wing to your leg.’ The pigeon said ‘All right,’ and fastened his wing to his leg, but could not undo it; and the monkey devoured him.

6. _The Hyena and the Hedgehog._

Once upon a time there was a hedgehog travelling in quest of something to eat, and saw a hyena coming towards him with intent to devour him. As soon as the hyena had reached him, he said, ‘My lord, I observe that you are dirty and stand in need of a bath, and if you require one I have a bath at your service in my house.’ The hyena replied, ‘Yes, it is true, I am much troubled with fleas, please come along and give it me; but first come to my house and breakfast, and then we will go to the bath.’ The hedgehog said, ‘That is just what I want, for I am out now looking for food.’ So the hedgehog went to the hyena’s house and had his breakfast. The hedgehog then said, ‘Now come along and take your bath.’ The hyena said, ‘All right.’ So they went to the hedgehog’s house and the bath was heated to boiling. The hedgehog said to the hyena, ‘Now jump into the bath, and scratch yourself.’ So the hyena jumped in; whereupon the hedgehog closed down the lid, and tied it with a string. The hyena said, ‘This is too hot for me, I want to get out.’ ‘No, no,’ said the hedgehog, ‘it is far better for you to be there than for me to be in your belly; bawl away till you are dead.’

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: Abd el Saddock was the father of Hadj Hamara, the Kaïd of Mogador, by whom we were hospitably entertained soon after our arrival. The father appears to have cumulated important offices to an extent now rare, if not unknown, in Marocco. As the Sultan’s hold over the province of Sous is very feeble, and limited to the occasional receipt of tribute, there is no resident Kaïd, but the title is given to any official sent, _pro hâc vice_, to represent the Sultan. But the provinces of Duquallah and Abda, like the rest of the settled country, are ordinarily administered by resident governors.]

[Footnote 2: The same of whom the first story is related above.]

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